


We’ll Set This World Ablaze

by Georgie04



Category: Ackley Bridge (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Male Character, Coming Out, Gay Male Character, Lesbian Character, Love, M/M, Mentions of past abuse, Nas is such a good friend, Self Acceptance, Soft Boys, i love my soft boys, sex mention, so is Riz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-24 02:34:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15620613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Georgie04/pseuds/Georgie04
Summary: Naveed Haider set Cory Wilson’s world on fire, and now it’s time for Cory to take control of the flames.





	We’ll Set This World Ablaze

It had been weeks since Naveed came out at his comedy show, and it felt like years since Cory was lying in bed with him, all soft edges, gentle kisses and tangled limbs. It was heaven, and then Cory went and fucked it up for the both of them.

God, when Naveed entered his life it was like God himself had sent some kind of angel. He was the breath of fresh air Cory had so desperately needed in his life, even if he hadn't realised it at the time. Naveed somehow managed to be the most secure thing in his life, and the most unstable, simultaneously. He set his world on fire, but protected him from the flames, and Cory still couldn't figure it the fuck out.

They were both trying so hard to make things go back to normal, and it had, kind of. Not really. Cory knew Naveed was in love with him, hell _everyone_ knew Naveed was in love with him, and that made things kind of strained. Cory knew it was his fault. That night in his bedroom Naveed had explicitly told him that Cory's friendship was enough, and Cory went and shagged him anyway. And he wanted to, _god_ he wanted to, but then he freaked the fuck out and ruined everything. Naveed was rightfully still hurting, even though he was trying to act like he wasn't, and Cory had no idea how to fix it, or if he even could. He wanted to talk about it somehow, but he just didn't have the words to explain what he needed to say. In fact, he wasn't even sure what it _was_ that he needed to say. He just knew that talking about it could potentially cause the precarious relationship that they had to crumble again, and he couldn't risk that, he couldn't risk losing his best friend.

So he kept his mouth shut and they muddled on, him and Naveed and an awkward Riz, just trying to make their friendship work again, even though their dynamic had shifted so drastically that they were all aware of the quiet, burning tension.

*

It was just after the last bell had rung, and Cory and Naveed were sitting together on a picnic table just inside the school grounds. Cory was perched on the table surveying everyone as they left school, and Naveed was sitting on the bench, facing inwards so he was looking at Cory. Riz had left early to visit the doctor about his neck, and so it had just been the two of them since lunchtime. It was somehow easier _and_ more difficult when it was just them two; Riz acted as a buffer, sometimes he kept the peace and sometimes he made it difficult for them to talk openly. Today it had been the former - there had been a lot of tension between them, but Cory couldn't be angry at Naveed for that, he knew it would take him time to truly recover from what Cory did to him.

"I don't know what she sees in him," Cory said, trying to make small talk to ease the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between the two boys.

Naveed looked up from the very interesting scratch he had found on the table, and turned around to look at whoever Cory was talking about. It was two year twelves with their tongues down each other's throats. Naveed didn't care much for the gossip, he just didn't want it to be about him anymore. He nodded his head slightly.

"Fancy her, do ya?" he asked, trying to sound interested but only managing to sound resentful.

Cory winced.

He shook his head and laughed, "Nah you muppet, not my type," he said, trying to ease the tension.

He didn't miss when Naveed rolled his eyes, and Cory was almost certain he was thinking _anything with a pulse and vagina is your type_. He couldn't blame him for that either, he'd slept with some random girl the day after he'd slept with Naveed, he looked like the biggest fuckboy around.

"Course not," Naveed muttered, his attention back on the groove in the table.

The silence was physically tangible, and just when Cory thought he could bear it no longer, Naveed stood up.

"Better be off, see you tomorrow?"

Cory couldn't help the disappointment that filled him. Sure, they had no real reason to be hanging around at school after it had finished, and it wasn't like they were actually talking about anything anyway, but Cory just wanted his company. And yeah, going home to an empty house was shitty, but it was about more than that, he just genuinely wanted to be around Naveed.

"Yeah, alright mate, see ya," Cory replied, waving as Naveed walked away.

Jesus, his head was such a mess. Like yeah, Cory _had_ wanted it when they slept together, and it definitely did feel right, but he also meant it when he said he wasn't gay, and he had no idea where that left him, other than hurting.

"You know," a voice started, snapping Cory out of his Naveed-filled daydream, "if you want to stay in the closet, you're gonna have to stop looking at him like that."

Nasreen Paracha was standing in front of him, a smug grin on her face. He coughed, tried to think of something witty or sarcastic to say in response, but his mind blanked and so he just scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Don't know what you're on about," he told her, laughing to cover up the intense anxiety that filled his entire body.

Nas sighed, shrugging off her backpack and climbing up to sit beside Cory on the table. They had never been close, unless you count that one awkward snog that was just downright weird, so her appearance was almost as shocking as the comment she had made. He could feel his body practically vibrating with nervous energy, and Nas could too, so she elbowed him gently, trying to ease his nerves and show that her visit to him wasn't a hostile one.

"I'm not blind Cory, even if I didn't know you'd slept with him," she ignored the look of horror on Cory's face and his attempts to interrupt and carried on, "It's clear from the way you look at him every time he can't see you watching."

"Nas, listen, I don't know what you think you know-" Cory frantically tried to protest, but the slight smile and lack of judgement on her face somehow made him stop talking.

His entire body just relaxed, as if all the anxiety had seeped out of it, and suddenly he just wanted to cry. Nas was friends with the biggest gob in the school, and if Missy found out he knew that everyone else would too, but for some reason he wasn't worried that she was going to tell anyone. Her sitting beside him quietly, with not a trace of anger on her face even though he'd broken the heart of one of her best friends, managed to reassure him that this, this was okay. This was safe. He could talk to her. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he was sure of it.

"You really hurt him, y'know? He came to my house and just cried," Cory felt sick as she spoke, "and I figured you'd just pulled another one of your stunts, slept with him to mess with head or something. I was ready to kill you when I saw you, but then I saw you looking him. You didn't do it to hurt him, did you?"

Cory shook his head, of course he didn't do it to hurt Naveed, he wasn't capable of intentionally hurting him - he wasn't sure if _anyone_ could purposely hurt Naveed, he was too good of a person for that.

"I did want to, _y'know_ ," he raised his eyebrows to indicate what he meant, "but then I just panicked, like, I'm not gay Nas, I swear," he confessed, his voice so low he was barely audible.

"I am," Nasreen replied, calmly with a smile on her face.

Cory was about to argue, because she was obviously accusing him or attacking him or making fun of him. Only she wasn't.

Wait, _what?_

His snapped his head in her direction so fast he almost gave himself whiplash, and Nas couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"Yep, I'm a raging lesbian," she said, still laughing.

"I had no idea," Cory admitted.

"Yeah, that was kind of the point, but we're not talking about me, we're talking about you pining after Naveed."

Cory scoffed, he was _not_ pining. Sure, he wanted everything to be okay between him and Naveed, and yeah he enjoyed spending time with him, and alright, the thought of him eventually ending up with just about anyone made him feel sick but- oh. Maybe he was pining a bit. Fuck.

The look of realisation must have been plastered across his face because Nasreen just smiled and bumped her shoulder against his. Cory ran his fingers through his hair - the anxiety that had only just left his body came flooding back tenfold.

"You can be bi, you know? There's not just gay and straight, you can like boys and girls," Nas informed him, resting a gentle hand on his arm as it all started to sink in for him.

"I like Nav," Cory breathed so quietly she could barely hear him.

It was the first time he had admitted it to himself, let alone anyone else.

"You like Nav," Nasreen confirmed for him.

Neither of them saw Naveed watching their exchange through the school gates, and they didn't notice when he skulked off looking dejected and hurt.

*

A week after Cory came to the realisation that he had feelings for Naveed, things hadn't changed. Well, they had, but not for the better. Like a complete prat, Cory had kept his mouth shut. He wasn't too ashamed to admit to himself, and Nasreen for that matter, that he was scared. It was one thing for Cory to realise he liked Nav, but it was another to actually tell him, and for other people to know as well. He wasn't sure he was ready for that, and he didn't want to fuck up his already delicate relationship with Naveed even further by confessing how he felt then taking that away from him.

He was certain that Naveed was being off with him. He had been even more distant than normal, cracking less jokes and just being overall less himself. Although, Cory was aware that it was possible _he_ was the one who was being off, and Naveed was just feeding off of his energy. He just didn't know what to do with himself. He felt stuck, like whatever he chose to do was the wrong decision.

Until one afternoon, after school, when he was lying in bed - the same bed that he had shared with Naveed. He couldn't remember a time where he felt as whole as he did that night, with Naveed so close to him. After everything he'd been through, his mum leaving and his dad's vicious temper, he hadn't experienced genuine affection in so long. Yeah, he'd shagged plenty girls, but they never meant anything. But Nav, _shit_ , after that night he'd been fucking glowing, riding on cloud nine until he fucked it all up. What did it matter what anyone else thought or said? He'd been through bigger scandals than liking a boy, he was a _dad_ for god's sake (and he was trying to be better at that).

Cory was almost certain that, if he carried on being "just friends" with Naveed, he'd never forgive himself.

So he practically bolted out of his house - almost forgetting to lock the door in his haste - and hopped on his bike, then sped off.

When he arrived as Nas' door he was sweating and out of breath. He had pedalled so fast that all he could focus on was the road in front of him, because if he had thought about what he was about to say, he'd have turned right back around again. So, when she opened the door to a panting, red-faced Cory, Nasreen was more than I little surprised.

"Cory? What are you doing here? Has something happened?" Nas panicked, and he couldn't help the way his heart swelled a little as she worried about him. This was an ally, a friend he had never seen coming.

"I'm bisexual," he wheezed.

She frowned a little, "I thought we'd already established that?"

Cory shook his head, "Yeah but now I can say it, now I'm okay with it."

A smile stretched across Nas' face big enough to rival the one on Cory's, and she leaned forward and pulled him into a hug, only caring a little bit that she could feel his sweat on her skin.

And again, neither of them noticed Naveed in the background, watching them as they embraced.

*

"Alright, what is going on with you two?" Naveed asked, storming up to Cory and Nasreen who had been talking outside the school gates once the day was over.

Cory and Nas looked at each other, and then at Naveed, as if neither of them had a clue what he could possibly be talking about. Naveed groaned in frustration.

"Don't," he warned, "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about!"

Cory knew that this wasn't joking Nav, he wasn't winding them up, he was genuinely fucking pissed. Cory cringed internally - he'd been on the receiving end of Naveed's anger once before and he hated it so much he would have done just about anything to avoid ending up back in that position. Except tell the truth, apparently.

"Nav, what are you talking about mate?" Cory asked, reaching out to rest a hand on Naveed's shoulder, but he just shrugged Cory's arm off of him and took a step back.

"Is there something going on between you two?"

Naveed knew it was a ridiculous question, of-fucking-course he did, but he couldn't think of any other possible reason for their new friendship.

Nasreen and Cory both barked out a laugh, though that did little to reassure Nav, in fact it just made him even more pissed off.

"You know that's utter crap Naveed," Nas said, still laughing as his absurd accusation.

"Is it? Because I saw you the other day after school, and I came to see you yesterday and you two were hugging in your doorway?"

And again, Naveed knew that this was bloody ridiculous, but he was still hurting so much after the shit Cory pulled, and seeing the guy who broke his heart (even if they were still friends) getting cosy with his other best friend, it just made things worse, okay? He knew he was being daft, being paranoid, but Nas _hated_ Cory, so why were they all of a sudden friends?

"Naveed, listen, this might come as a shock to you, but I'm a lesbian," Nas said, whispering dramatically as if she was revealing some huge secret, which, to be honest, she was, seeing as no one else knew, apart from Cory apparently.

"Yeah, she's not my type Nav," Cory said, more gentle and sympathetic than Nas had been.

Cory offered Naveed a small smile when he ran his hand through his hair. Naveed was obviously realising he'd just made a massive dick out of himself for accusing his lesbian best friend of having a relationship with his other best friend that he just so happened to be in love with. We all make mistakes.

"So when did you become such good friends then?"

Nasreen and Cory shared a look, then she nodded in understanding.

"I'll leave you two to talk."

*

Cory was growing more anxious with every silent step they took. He hadn't worked up the nerve to start talking yet, so he and Naveed had been walking in awkward silence for almost fifteen minutes. Naturally he'd directed them towards the hill, where it was quiet and private and just felt safe, somehow. They were nearing the top when Cory finally opened his mouth.

"I was such a dick to you," he told Nav, "and I'm so sorry that I hurt you."

"We've been over this Cory," Naveed complained, "Is that why you've made friends with Nas? To try and make yourself feel better about it?"

"No, no listen to me, okay?" Cory waited for a nod from Naveed before he continued, "I meant what I said about wanting it to happen, and about it feeling right, I really did."

"You've already told me this, I was fun to fuck but you're not gay and we can still be mates, _I know_."

Cory was getting frustrated with Naveed, and Naveed was getting frustrated with Cory. Naveed wasn't giving him chance to explain what he meant without butting in, and Cory was saying the same things Naveed had already heard, and would really rather not hear again. They were going around in circles and not making any progress.

"This is really hard for me alright, so could you just shut up and let me speak?" Cory snapped.

"Oh I'm so sorry that this is so hard for you," Naveed taunted, but Cory glared at him and Naveed shut his mouth.

"You weren't just some easy shag, alright? You're different from everyone else, and not because you're a guy - I mean that's part of it, but not the most important part. The most important part is that it mattered. All I've _ever_ been good for is a meaningless fuck, no one ever wanted more than that from me. And then you come along and you actually liked _me_ , and I've never had to deal with that before. And yeah, you're a guy, and I'm _not_ gay, Naveed," Nav rolled his eyes but Cory continued, "but that doesn't mean I'm straight either."

Naveed's head whipped around to look at Cory, who was now sitting on the bench at the top of the hill. He _couldn't_ have heard that right, could he? He held his breath, still half expecting Cory to pull some sort of joke.

"Turns out I'm bi," Cory laughed, looking over his shoulder at Naveed.

There was a moment so quiet that the only thing either of them could hear was the thrumming of their own hearts in their chests. Both of them were too scared to so much as breathe.

"Don't say that to me."

"What? Why not?" Cory immediately exclaimed, confused as to why this revelation didn't make Naveed as happy as it made Cory.

"You shagged me because I was there and you knew I wouldn't say no, that hurt enough, but this? I really thought we could be friends, but this is cruel, Cory."

Naveed tried to leave but Cory was out of his seat in an instant, rushing to grab Nav by the shoulders to stop him from walking away. He forced Naveed to turn around and look at him. Nas had said she could tell how Cory felt by the way he looked at Naveed, and now Cory was hoping that Naveed would be able to see it too.

"I'm not messing with you, okay?"

"And you've just figured this out today?" Nav asked dubiously.

"No, obviously not, that's what Nas was helping me with! But I just, I always saw it as gay or straight, alright? No in between. But there _is_ , and that's me. I was so confused, I've always liked girls, I never even thought about liking boys as well. Then you came along and fucked it all up," Cory laughed as if it he couldn't believe what he was saying, and Naveed rolled his eyes, but a small smile made it's way onto his lips.

"Sorry," Nav replied sarcastically.

"Don't be. I also meant it when I said that first kiss made me feel like someone cared," Cory shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts, "Listen, I've never felt important to anyone before, but then you came into my life and made me feel exactly that, and you made me feel _good_ and _safe_ , and you're my best mate and a guy, and yeah I freaked out and I fucked up, bad, but I needed to accept myself before I came to you with this, and I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like you."

There was another silence following Cory's confession, only this time he was certain his heart wasn't beating at all. Naveed stood in front of him, watching him without making a move or a sound, and Cory suddenly felt so exposed and vulnerable, but it didn't feel scary, not when it was Naveed seeing him like this.

Cory didn't know what to expect. Maybe Naveed would walk away, or not believe him, or get mad and end their friendship - they were all possible scenarios that Cory had gone over in his head, but none of them could have even come to close to what Naveed actually did.

After a long, shaky breath, and about a million thoughts rushing through his head, Naveed finally took the plunge and kissed Cory.

It was everything everything everything.

For the first time they were both all in; both of them were sure about what they wanted, and neither were afraid to take it. Cory's hands, which were still firmly grasping Naveed's shoulders, slipped down and found their way around his waist. Cory pulled him close, having had enough distance between them for the past month or so. Naveed cupped Cory's face with his hands, scared that if he let go Cory might disappear into thin air, or worse, push him away. But neither happened, instead Cory pulled back slightly, but their noses were still brushing together and their lips so close they were almost kissing. The looks in their eyes were electric and their smiles were so wide it was almost painful, but they didn't care, it was a small price to pay for the pure happiness they were both feeling.

Naveed couldn't believe Cory had kissed him in public, where anyone could have seen, not that he was about to complain or anything. He was basking in the unadulterated joy he was finally feeling. He was certain he couldn't feel any better, until Cory connected their lips once again, in a kiss so gentle that Naveed wanted to cry.

"I want this, I want _you_ , and I want everyone to know."

Naveed was wrong, he most definitely could feel better.

*

Nas was the first person to find about them because she had bombarded both of them with texts until they finally pulled themselves away from each other for long enough to reply. But, naturally, Riz was next. They were both apprehensive when they sat him down to tell him about their relationship before they went public with it.

"Listen," Cory began, "Naveed and I, we're together now."

The boys had anticipated and considered a number of possible reactions, but nothing could have prepared them for Riz laughing in their faces.

"Mate, you broke my neck, not my eyes."

Cory looked at Naveed, then they both looked at Riz, and all of them burst into laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> My soft boys Naveed and Cory inspired me to publish on here for the first time ... sorry if it’s awful.


End file.
